MUDVAYNE's CHAD GRAY Celebrates Two Years Of Sobriety

MUDVAYNE frontman Chad Gray recently celebrated two years since he quit drinking. The 51-year-old musician, who was born in Illinois but currently resides in Las Vegas, opened up about his battle with the bottle in a new interview with Australia's "Everblack" podcast. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I haven't really spoken about it yet 'cause I'm not one for a bunch of fucking fanfare. But I haven't even posted or done anything, but I've been sober now for two years. I just passed my two-year mark. The last day of ['The Psychotherapy Sessions'] tour [in late August] was my two years. And I just didn't make any — I haven't told anybody. I haven't really gone to the wire and been, like, 'Hey.' 'Cause I don't want a bunch of people to go, 'Fucking great, man'; I don't need all that. It's been two fucking years."

He continued: "You wanna think that when you quit drinking and shit — 'cause I was insane; I was a madman. I drank and I was volatile and I was fucking crazy as fuck and not a great drinker. I was just an asshole. I was just crazy — period. And I just got fucking fed up with that dude. I quit to try to help myself and to be a better me and to live a better life, and it just doesn't work that way. You wanna think that you stop doing shit like that and all the voices get quiet, and it's, like, dude, they're screaming. And everything becomes more amplified — all the feelings, all the emotions, all the depression, all the fucking shit, you know."

Gray added: "I've done so many things in my life to try to figure it out and be better. Am I better today than I was yesterday? I hope so. I assume I am. Am I better today than I was two years ago? Absolutely. I know that for a fucking fact. But I still have a lot of work to do on myself and I still have a lot of therapy to do on my own. And my therapy is writing those thoughts down and fucking creating and connecting. It helps me to be open and to be honest knowing that I'm going to connect with someone and knowing that I'm gonna help someone. And that's the reason that I want to continue to write music. My biggest thing is that — the connection that I know that I'm gonna make with someone. And that's my inspiration. And that's my muse."

Back in 2017, while Chad was fronting HELLYEAH, he told Antihero that he was "not drinking on the road anymore. I quit partying," he claimed. "I just came to the terms with myself like that. I wanted to give, be the best that I can when I'm playing. So I do all of the things that I do just to play. To give you, all the fucking kids that are standing in front of me, the best show possible. And it's hard to do when you're drinking. You're dehydrated, you're fucking hung over. I just feel better. I feel more confident in my voice and I feel better about myself. I look better. I lost weight. It's 'good good good'. The only bad is no drinking."

MUDVAYNE kicked off its first headlining tour in over 14 years, "The Psychotherapy Sessions", in July. Support on the 26-city trek, which was produced by Live Nation, came from COAL CHAMBER, along with GWAR, NONPOINT and BUTCHER BABIES.

Previously, MUDVAYNE made waves in 2022 when they embarked on the "Freaks On Parade" tour co-headlined with ROB ZOMBIE. This 2023 tour, however, marked MUDVAYNE's first headlining endeavor since 2009.

MUDVAYNE formed in 1996 and has sold over six million records worldwide, earning gold certification for three albums ("L.D. 50", "The End Of All Things To Come", "Lost And Found"). The band is known for its sonic experimentation, innovative album art, face and body paint, masks and uniforms. MUDVAYNE is Gray, Greg Tribbett (guitar, backing vocals),Matthew McDonough (drums, synthesizer) and Ryan Martinie (bass).

Gray spent a decade and a half fronting HELLYEAH, which released its sixth studio album, "Welcome Home", in September 2019 via Eleven Seven Music. The disc marked the group's final effort with drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, who passed away more than five years ago.